Romantic Comedy

 

I heard Curtis Sittenfeld's Romantic Comedy being discussed on the Radio National's Book Shelf (increasingly I discover new books through this show on a Saturday morning -- of course it's also a podcast). I duly reserved it at the library without being able to remember exactly what had sparked my interest -- which meant that actually reading it several weeks later became a delightful surprise.

Sally is a writer on The Night Owls (Saturday Night Live in very thin disguise) when she meets that week's host and musical guest, the intoxicatingly handsome and horrendously famous pop star Noah Brewster. Is there chemistry between them? Is such a thing even possible between such a handsome man and an averagely attractive, very intelligent woman?

I'm embarrassed to admit how much of my youth I spent wrestling with similar questions, convinced that anyone I fancied was automatically out of my league. It's hard not to conclude that Romantic Comedy is, on one level, pure Mary Sue wish fulfillment -- like me writing a novel about David Tennant falling passionately in love with me. It also strains credulity slightly that Noah could have turned out so emotionally literate and utterly perfect, as the child of two unpleasant parents followed by a life of pop star adulation. 

But who cares? Romantic Comedy is whip smart, witty, enormous fun and has a lot of opinions on gender and relationships. It also has excellent use of the pandemic as a plot device that contributes meaningfully to the story. I found it deeply satisfying and 100% enjoyable. I've been a bit suspicious of Rodham, Sittenfeld's controversial alternative universe life story of Hillary Clinton, but I think I might have to read it now.